Candidate for state treasurer passes through Northwest Colorado

Craig  A candidate for state treasurer stopped in Craig and Steamboat as part of his statewide listening tour.

In July, Broomfield Mayor Pat Quinn announced his candidacy for treasurer in the 2014 election and since then has been high-tailing it across each Colorado county as part of his “leadership begins with listening” campaign.

He thinks it’s important to visit rural parts of Colorado to better understand the state.

So far, the Democrat has been through 38 counties, but his plan is to hit all 64.

“The perception is that the metro area is not aware of the rest of the state,” he said. “If you want to be a state representative you have to talk to the state.”

Quinn is a certified public accountant and has been in the business world for more than 20 years, which gives him the right experience for the job, he said.

Jane Yazzie, of the Moffat County Democrats, met with Quinn and said they had a productive conversation.

“He listened and he took notes,” she said. “I think it’s great. It’s what more politicians who run for office should do.”

They talked about the current issues that Moffat County is dealing with.

“I tried to make him realize that a county comprised mostly of public lands has a whole different concept of open space” from the metro area, she said.

Quinn said Moffat County faces many of the same issues that much of Colorado does.

“The dependency on one or two industries” is a constant struggle in the state, he said. But there are other tensions like “balancing environmental concerns with the production of coal.”

He recognized the need to improve rural highways.

“In Moffat County and places like that, it’s a function of safety,” he said about roadways.

Quinn started his listening tour Aug. 10 and will be wrapping up before the end of October.